This study examines the clash between diversity policies as designed in the West and the challenges in implementing these in the Middle East and North Africa region. We contribute to the role of context in diversity management by studying how HR managers deal with diversity policies when the Western approach and the local context are perceived as being incompatible. Twenty HR/diversity managers working for multinational companies in nine different countries in the Middle East and North Africa region were interviewed. The findings show that a manager's understanding of the interrelated nature of multilevel factors of the local context influences the strategies adopted. Three strategies to deal with the perceived clash are identified: forcing a Western approach upon the local country, a reframing strategy where existing policies are reformulated to fit the Western requirements, and a sensitive approach in which the local context is considered. The study suggests that multinationa.l companies have to adapt diversity policies to local multilevel factors of the country in which they operate.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how managers deal with religious diversity in secular organizations in France. Design/methodology/approach In total, 28 semi-structured in-depth interviews with managers in France were conducted, transcribed and analyzed. Findings The findings reveal three distinct strategies. First, the authors identified a “flexibility within the rules” strategy in which managers try to accommodate religious practices by making allowances, create mutual understanding and trust. Second, a “separation strategy” emerged in which managers keep work and religion clearly separated. Those managers expressed a strong adherence to rules and perceived the implementation of allowances difficult not only for their own organization but also in light of third parties with whom they worked. Third, the findings reveal a “common-ground” strategy in which managers stressed the communalities between individual workers, downplayed their differences and sought to create a strong corporate culture to which all employees could relate. Practical implications The expression of religious beliefs in the workplace is increasing. However, little is known about how managers deal with the perceived clash of secularism and the presence of different religions in the workplace. Implications for managers such as taking into account perceptions of justice, practical issues as well as the importance of communication and education are discussed. Originality/value Religion is a deep-level and understudied aspect of diversity management that deserves more attention given the increase in religious diversity in the workplace.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to provide a cross-cultural comparison of the attitudes toward diversity among human resource managers working for the same multinational company in the Netherlands and Morocco. Design/methodology/approach -In total, 35 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted by telephone and were analyzed by the use of content analysis. Hofstede's cultural dimensions were used as theoretical framework. Findings -The findings suggest that attitudes toward diversity are changing and not always in line with Hofstede's scores from 2010. Differences between the Netherlands and Morocco are discussed and trends in both countries are outlined. Originality/value -While it has been argued that Hofstede's cultural dimensions are relatively stable over time, the findings show that attitudes toward diversity are evolving in the light of the changing environment and that other cultural factors also play an important role.

PurposeThis paper examines antecedents to perceived injustice in exclusive talent identification practices.Design/methodology/approach31 in-depth interviews with individuals working in for-profit organizations in France were conducted and analyzed. Interviewees represented a variety of sectors such as transportation, aerospace, energy and telecommunications.FindingsThe use of exclusivity in talent identification influences perceived organizational justice through ambiguous advancement policies, support from hidden networks, lack of diversity in the talent identification process, frequent gender discrimination, and premature labeling of talent. These practices suggest breaches in procedural, distributive and interactional justice by allocating advantages to some employees over others. Exclusivity yielded frustration, jealousy and potential retaliatory behavior against those individuals deemed to be unfairly identified as talent.Practical implicationsThe challenge of ensuring fair and equitable talent identification is a growing issue for organizations. For managers, it requires paying close attention to how some forms of exclusivity in talent identification may create unfair treatment of employees.Originality/valueWhile organizational justice research focuses on the background and practices that promote justice, our research finds its originality in examining the sentiments of injustice that remain contextual, subjective and comparative.

This study focuses on the relationships between social power and recruitment discrimination in organizations. We examine how individuals in different hierarchical positions in organizations in France intentionally discriminate in their recruitment practices through various means of circumventing internal and external anti-discrimination policies. Social power theory is used as a theoretical framework. 28 semi-structured in-depth interviews with individuals involved in recruitment in France were conducted, transcribed and analyzed. The findings reveal two distinct strategies used to intentionally discriminate in recruitment. One strategy concentrates on outsourcing recruitment actions. In doing so, organizations can effectively divert the responsibility of upholding anti-discrimination rules and regulations to an outside party. In this strategy, the use of unwritten codes and external pressure (or the threat thereof) are employed so that the outside recruitment agency understands that it is to follow the client's wishes over the law, which relates to coercive power. The second strategy focuses on conducting covertly controlled in-house recruitment through the use of differential and legitimate power to overrule decisions, make use of vague and complex laws, or use costs and administrative difficulties as potential business reasons which may permit discrimination. We add to a growing body of research on recruitment discrimination and power.